Elevators typically consist of an elevator car, a counterweight, a plurality of ropes, and a sheave, all located in a hoistway. The ropes connect the elevator car and counterweight. Conventionally, one end of each rope attaches to a support frame connected to the ceiling of the car. From there the ropes extend up the hoistway to the sheave attached to overhead beams located directly above the car at the top of the hoistway. The ropes then wrap around the sheave and return back down the hoistway, finally attaching to the counterweight.
Service personnel checking or performing maintenance on this type of elevator are required to perform some of their operations on the support frame above the car. To avoid service personnel being crushed between the ceiling of the car and the overhead beams supporting the sheave, safety codes require a prescribed amount of overhead space, TC, be provided between the support frame and the overhead beam. Since the sheave is fixed to the top of the overhead beams, space is also required between the top of the overhead beams and the top of the hoistway. This space is called dead space (DS) because it is not usable space for the elevator. Finally, space is also required between the ceiling of the car and the top of the support frame (H1). This space also contributes to the unusable space in the hoistway. In sum, an elevator using this type of conventional arrangement has a minimum of unusable space equal to the sum of the code required space (TC), plus the dead space (DS), plus the space from the ceiling of the car to the top of the support frame (H1). Any space that cannot be used in a building detracts from the value of the building, and it is, therefore, desirable to minimize the unusable space.